ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE SPINNER:

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/10/sxsw-2010–dj-dus/

With a strong connection to the artists that have paved the way for DJ’s like himself, Dusty, aka DJ Dus, combines a respect that runs deep with his ancestral roots which run even deeper. Combining hip hop with Cumbia, DJ Dus brings a sound that not only reflects his culture, but holds appeal to the masses. Spinner spoke with DJ Dus about his music and his upcoming performance at SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Cumbia crunk – hip hop mashed up with cumbia. It has an underground sound. I take stuff from everywhere, stuff like Jamaican dancehall, old Colombian rhythms, all kinds of influences. Then I throw hip-hop into it and put it together into a DJ set.

How did your band form?

It pretty much fell into my lap. I started DJing when I was 12, back in 1992. I wanted to be a scratch DJ. Then I got into making beats, and now I’ve been producing for the past 15 years.

What are your musical influences?

I come from hip hop production, so of course I like DJ Shadow, J Dilla, people like that. Even guys like Will.I.Am and Rick Ruben, they’re all dope producers. Now that I’m doing the DJ thing, though, it’s a different sort of game. I’m the artist now, versus producing tracks to give to someone else to play.

How did you come up with your band name?

I was never the kind of guy to have a DJ name. People have been calling me Dus [short for Dusty] since I was a little kid, so I decided to go with that.

What’s in your festival survival kit?

My laptop and turntables, and sometimes I work off of a APC40 Ableton controller. I want to start incorporating that more into my set.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Definitely Billie Jean.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

All that goofy new electro. Those huge David Guerra-type tracks. If you don’t like ‘em, you’re a jerk.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen or experienced while on tour?

Nothing I’d want to put in an interview [laughs].

What’s been the most influential piece of advice you’ve received?

Learn beats. There are so many rhythms coming from Africa, Colombia, all over the place, and a lot of them have been around for hundreds of years. Traditional beats work for a reason. If you learn your beats and know how to put them together, people will respond to it.

If you were to create a meal inspired by your music, what would you be eating?

Cilantro and lime on spicy chicharrones, barbacoa, bacon and refried beans.

Kevin Chen is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.

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